


Nine

by Arwen_Evenstar



Series: The paths we choose [9]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Action/Adventure, Dreams, Dreams and Nightmares, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Prophetic Dreams, Treason
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-17
Updated: 2018-11-17
Packaged: 2019-08-24 22:19:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16648913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arwen_Evenstar/pseuds/Arwen_Evenstar
Summary: Of how Finn and Rose devised a plan to sabotage First Order Operations.Of how Poe felt betrayed by Rey and his team.Of how Rey helped Ben Solo to leave the past behind.A new Path is coming.





	Nine

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, and glad to have you back and sticking with this story. I know that it is not like other awesome titles out there, but its just as honest and from the heart. So thank you for reading!  
> This chapter was partly inspired by a drabble from our Reylo Fic Recs weekly challenges, but it was a while back so I cannot remember which was the artist that provided the inspiration.  
> As always, I would love to hear from you, especially the ones who have been reading the story from the beginning. I know it was a rocky start, but now as we progress further I think we are starting to see where the story is evolving, right?  
> Big hug to all of you!

Vega looked at the translucent screen before him, the cursor blinking bright. His eyes roamed the code he had just written and he swallowed, pushing that lump of anguish down his throat. He blinked and looked at the cursor again. It almost seemed like the computer was judging him, whispering,  _are you sure you want to do this?_

He looked at his companion in front of him, who was completely focused on the screen. His eyes momentarily crossed his - the same fear branded within. Carefully, Vega risked a peak to the side, eyeing the stormtrooper at the end of the hall. His weapon was out and the hand was nudging the trigger. He looked at his hands, suspended over the keyboard. They were shaking. Soon, the foreman would come and check on him to see the cause of the delay.

_Just press it, already!_

But the hand did not move.

Sure enough, he heard the sound of someone getting up from the cubicle in the opposite end. An almost white set of glistening hair over blue skin started to rise from its high chair. The darkness of his uniform contrasted with the piercing red glow of his eyes. The Chiss foreman started to walk down the hall when, suddenly, the doors opened and someone was thrown to the corridor. Vega gasped - it was Alexis.

The woman tried to get up, her hair in disarray. She had been shaken, her clothes were crumpled and the colar ripped. Vega’s hands closed into fists and he looked at his colleague, who gave him an almost imperceptible nod.

_Don’t do anything stupid,_ his eyes screamed.

The Chiss hastened his step and closed the distance to the woman, stopping just as she was able to stand. Her face was slightly swollen. His eyes sparked.

“What is the meaning of this? Why are you hitting my engineers?” he barked at the pirate behind her. Krin smiled, his slimy yellow teeth showing. The foreman just sneered, disgusted.

“You should control your team Vlako. I caught this one trying to reach the access to the mine shaft.”

Vlako looked at the woman again, and Alexis felt a shiver running down her back under that cold, impassive, stare. Suddenly, his hand shot up and reached for her neck, securing it firmly. Her hands came up, trying to easen the grip, her eyes desperate. Vega twitched on his seat, suppressing the wanting in his chest, of getting up and level the foreman to the ground. He felt a hand close on his wrist, forcing him to stay put. And a word, uttered in a flat, low tone.

_No._

Vega looked at his colleague, forcing another lump of anguish down his throat.

“What were you trying to do? Tell me” the Chiss whispered, his voice deep and ominous. He squeezed a little more and Alexis eyes bulged. She tried to speak, but couldn’t. Finally, Vlako released her and she fell to the ground, coughing and gasping for air.

“You...you beast! How...how dare you...to treat us like this? To hold our family, our children hostages?”

Vlako turned around and looked at the engineer. His mouth twisted in a sneare of disdain as he clasped his hands behind his back. He signaled Krin, who immediately grabbed Alexis, forcing her to get up. The red eyes of the foreman were glittering, leading her to think that he was enjoying himself.

“If you have complaints, talk to your elders. They were the ones leasing us your planet, work power and all.”

"You lie.”

“Oh? You really think so? I will be sure to deliver your complaints next time I see Travion at the dice table in Canto Bight.”

Her mouth trembled, his words confirming what they suspected all along: the Council had sold them to the highest bidder - the First Order - in exchange for a place at the table, when the New Republic came down. They had been afraid and did what was easy - cop out.

Her family, and hundreds more, torn apart: children and young men bound to slave at the mines and on the smelting floors. Subdued with promises of work in Canto Bight, others to serve as trained assassins. The smart ones would do as they did - develop technology and weapons to the First Order. She thought of her son, whom she had tried to reach just earlier, inspired by Vega’s success with his daughters, all those months before. She had hoped, but she had failed.

Alexis couldn’t stop the tears falling, but she made no sound.

“I will make sure your son is sent on the next shuttle, hmm? Make him this quarter winner? Perhaps, he can deliver your complaints himself, instead of me?”

She jerked. “No! No! I just wanted to know if he was all right, that was all.” Alexis knew what happened to those who came back: they were sent to the mines on the dark side of the planet, where the cold forced them to dig deeper into the mines. Forging the next Karas Stasi warriors. Only a handful survived, molded and ready.

Vlako turned around and grabbed her again by the neck, raising her from the ground. Krin laughed. “Damn, Vlako! And you were worried about me?”, he mocked. Vlako glanced at the pirate with enough hatred to see his yellow smile die.

Vega couldn’t take it anymore and despite the screaming eyes of his coworker, he stood up.

“Sir! Incoming information from Base, we need to finish the modifications to the star destroyers as soon as possible!”

Vlako turned slowly at that voice, still holding Alexis in his firm grip. His face was placid, serene even. A calm of hate and Vega knew it well.

When Alexis feet touched the ground and she was left coughing, Vega continued.

“We have received instructions, Sir. Base has requested us to move ahead of schedule. Look--you can see for yourself”, he took a few steps towards another monitor and pressed the dispatch button. A string of yellow phrases began to appear on the holoscreen, dictating commands and warnings. Vlako approached the screen and his eyes moved rapidly over the text. Finally, he snorted and looked at Alexis, who was still planted on the spot with Krin looming over her, like some form of pestilence.

“What are you still doing there? Get back to your post. Lord Commander Hux has issued orders himself: all weapon modifications are to be delivered in less than a week. Get to work!” he barked.

Alexis took her seat, next to Vega. She looked at the keyboard for a few minutes, trying to catch her breath. She felt Vlako’s presence behind her, a coldness radiating from his body.

“If I ever catch you doing that again, your son will be terminated”, he said before continuing onward to his office at the end of the corridor. Alexis risked a sideway glance at Vega, who nodded almost imperceptibly.

He turned to his screen.The light was still blinking, waiting.

_Enough._

He pushed enter.

\----

Finn could feel the tension in the air, just before Poe entered the bay. He looked at Rose, still pouring herself over the information coming through the holoscreen and he gently touched her shoulder.

 “We need to help them. If word gets out, all of this will be in vain…” Rose started, but then she felt her partner’s hand, tugging. She raised her head at his signal, seeing Finn turning to the door, a serious, taunt look in his eyes. She knew what that look meant - just a few days before she had seen it, when Rey materialized in front of them.

Rose straightened and turned to the door, knowing perfectly well what they were facing.

 

Poe was standing by the entry, with Connix rushing past by just as the doors were shutting. She looked at Rose and took a deep breath, her stance resolute. _She told him_ , Rose thought biting her lower lip.

 “It was time”, Connix answered, mirroring the recognition in Finn’s face. “Commander Dameron needs to know what is going on. Especially after what happened with Rey.”

Poe was silent but his eyes weren’t. He was looking at Finn with an odd mix of relief and betrayal. He was torn between telling him about the vision he had experienced or throwing a punch for keeping that secret from him. Finally, he decided to act - it was time to end that charade.

 “For how long, Finn? For how long were you planning to keep this from me? Risking our position like this?”

 “Risking our position?” Finn spat, anger rising from within. He was tired of talking, of the small victories that were just a small relief to the terrible doom that awaited them. It wasn’t hope. It was just something to numb them from the pain.

 “Why did you keep this from me?”

Rose stepped between them and raised a hand, stopping Finn from answering back. Her voice was calm, but firm. “You wouldn’t listen. You wanted fire and grimstone to fall over the First Order, even if that came at the expense of misery.”

 “And because of that you betrayed me?”

 “We did not betrayed you. We decided to act by ourselves. To take a chance, even if it was a shot in the dark. And Rey helped.”

Poe slammed both fists on the table and Rose could swear she heard the thermoplast crack.

 “DAMN IT FINN! I AM YOUR COMMANDER!”

Everyone fell silent. Poe was breathing heavily and he suddenly became pale, his eyelashes fluttering. Finn was reaching him in two steps, supporting him before he could fall.

 “I will get some water” Rose said, going into the small washing room in the side of the hall. Connix grabbed one of the chairs and helped Finn with Poe.

 “He is still weak and shaken. He was talking about Leia, about Rey and Kylo Ren. He said he saw something while he was unconscious.”

Rose came back with the water and a damp cloth, which Connix took from her and immediately placed on Poe’s brow, to his relief.

 “Here, my friend. Drink. You need to recover for what is ahead of us.” Finn murmured as he tipped the glass over Poe’s blue-tinged lips. The pilot drank and nodded his head, signaling Connix to stop and Finn to stand. He straightened himself on the chair, making sure he felt his back glued to the seat, for support. Slowly, his face became less pale; but there was a thin moist, a miasma from the dream still clinging to his skin.

 “Sorry...about the yelling. I am not myself” he said, catching his breath and rubbing his eyes. He swallowed and took another gulp of water, gripping the cup with both hands, making sure it would not fall and smash into pieces. He set the glass on the table and looked at his friend, who sat next to him. Rose stood by the holoscreen, following the information that was coming in from the outer stations.

 “Tell me. Everything.”

Finn took a deep breath and began his account of the plan. A plan whose seed was planted by none other than a traitor: DJ. A plan that took hold on Rose‘s experience  and the knowledge among the scavenger traders. A plan, whose first form was no more than whispers from the moment Leia died, turned solid once Poe decided to secure weapons from the same flow of suppliers of the First Order.

 “Rose and her sister, Paige, knew about the mine planets and what was going on there. For years the First Order minions have been seizing control of those planets, buying debts and leasing them, workforce and all.”

 “But...why then allow others to buy weapons?” Poe asked, “They could stomp any opponents out, force them to look for other suppliers, make them waste time”

Rose snorted “And not take the opportunity to make a little money?” Rose took her eyes off the holoscreen and looked at Finn, pressing him on.

 “After Starkiller, rumors started spreading, that the Order had the technology to mount a version of the weapon on star destroyers. And then the Senate opted to keep the Galactic Concord in place; smaller systems had no choice but to arm themselves, just in case.”

 “Multiple clients” Poe whispered, understanding, and Finn nodded, in agreement. Poe closed his eyes, for a bit, and Connix rushed for the damp cloth once more, gently pressing it into Poe’s hand, who turned to look at her, thankful.”So, what was this plan you came up with?”

 “Ok, so, Rose knew that the children in Canto Bight came from those planets. You see, pirates and syndicates do this often to control large numbers: they separate the adults from the children as a way of control. The children are put to work at the mines or are rotated through the syndicate network. Eventually, they get shipped back.”

As Finn’s story unfolded, Poe felt his heart tighten a bit more. Would he had acted differently, had he known? The opposite being they would be far outpowered in case the First Order would come knocking on their door, suddenly. It had happened to Leia - it could also happen to them.

 “So, when we knew you were going to Canto Bight to negotiate a deal, it was our chance.”

Poe smiled. “That is why Rey came to my quarters to apologize. She was in it with you.” He became sad all of a sudden, like he remembered a friend long lost. Everyone kept silent for a moment, until Rose decided it was enough.

 “Yes, Rey knew. She carried our modified holos, to give to the children. They were told to pass it on to the ones being sent back to the mine planets”, she said, reaching for her pocket. “We hoped that at least one could reach the right people”.

She removed a small oval holo and placed it on the table, pressing its center. An image appeared, of Rey and Kylo Ren, fighting on Starkiller. Poe pursed his lips and his eyes became clouded in shadow. Finn sensed his discomfort and reached to press the side of the holo: the image of the dueling pair disappeared, giving way to a flurry of instructions and guidelines.

 “It’s a code” Rose announced, proudly “I have been writing this for a bit now, since Starkiller happened. These commands, if inserted correctly into the launch sequences of any ship with destroyer-level fire power can lead to the implosion of the system.”

Poe frowned. He was superior skilled with an X-Wing, but was completely ignorant of coding. Finn smiled.

 “The system will overload after a while. And by the time they notice it, it will be too late.”

Poe looked at Finn and then at Rose.

 “Boom.”

 “Oh...kriff” he couldn’t help swearing. His heart was beating faster, thinking of the possibility. An actual chance to defeat the First Order! And then he remembered; his head snapped up and he reached for Finn’s collar.

 “Rey! You let Rey go! She will go to Kylo Ren and everything will be in vain!” he hissed between clenched teeth. Finn only had time to reach for his arm and tried to easen his grip, which was easy given how weak he still was.

 “I know it seems...weird. But Rey explained everything. And I believe her.”

Poe jerked, trying to control the emotions rapidly crossing his chest: fear, hope, betrayal. Finn reached for his shoulder and squeezed it.

 “The Path is set.” Finn whispered, his brown eyes as large as saucers - and Poe almost thought he saw Leia in them.

 “Trust the Force”

Rose gasped and everyone turned to look at her. She seemed frightened for a fraction of a second, but then her face closed into a stare of determination. Finn smiled: he loved her for it.

 “Well, we will sure need the Force now” she replied to the holoscreen flashing red lights.

\-----

The light was creeping into the cave through the skylight, slowly coming over the two bodies lying on the makeshift bed. Rey shivered, opening her eyes and suddenly she got up like a bolt - for a moment forgetting where she was and why she was there.

Then she noticed the figure laying beside her, still sleeping. His hair was a tangled mess, spread over his face. His torso was uncovered and Rey was lost in thought, fragments of the night coming back to her.

One time, and another, and another.

How they had moved together, locked in a dance made of Light and Dark. Fighting a battle neither could win. Still they persisted fighting, craving it, consuming each other,  becoming stronger at each thrust, at each scratch, at each moan.

The Dark in her rejoiced, satiated. The Light in her felt strong and warm.

And Ben, still sleeping, almost seemed like he was glowing from inside out, a fever that made his body respond with a fine mist.

 “The Force”, she whispered, afraid that he might wake up and shatter the moment. Her hand hovered over him and she wondered how deep their connection had become.

She closed her eyes, and focused.

It was a shock when she entered him, making him flinch. When before it had felt muted, now it was like falling into an icy sea. For a moment, she was doubtful.

_I control it._

She pressed on, moving her hand up over his arm, his shoulder, his neck, his head. Rey shivered as the connection became stronger.

She could see his mind: a swirl of darkness, thick and sinuous, clinging, tapping into her insecurities. She saw Jakku, the ship leaving her behind, the other scavengers beating her, Luke staring in disapproval, and Ben.

_You are nothing._

That almost made her pull out. She could feel the resentment, the anger, surrounding her, hurting her, making her feel like “a nobody”. And that is when Rey realized that was what  _he_ felt. All the time. Fighting the tears back, she took a deep breath and dug her way out of that black swamp of emotions, until she broke  ashore.

White sands. A blue ocean. Rey recognized the beach where they had kissed. She walked down, marveling at the fact that he had memorized every detail. Every bird, tree, mountain.

Turning to the lapping waves, she startled.

There was a boy, no more than 8 or 9 years old, standing in the wave break looking at the shore just in front. He had water up above his knees.

He hesitated, biting his lip, and Rey knew who he was. He seemed unsure to take the steps to the beach ahead. He seemed afraid.

He jerked his head and straightened, realizing she was there. His eyes pierced her very soul, burning with anxiety. She had taken a small step towards him when the boy started to change, turning into the man she knew, all dressed in black. The three slits of his mask sparkled as the water reflected over it. A hiss and a hum reached her, and she shivered seeing him raising his red lightsaber.

_Ben?_

The mask looked silently at her and he did not move. Rey hesitated, sensing something off.

_Have you come here to fight me?_

The sound of the vocoder, long lost inside her memory, came back with a bite. It was as if a thunder ripped the sky, already turning grey before her.

_Have you come to tell how I am a disappointment?_

His voice was fused with the voice of the child he had once been.

_Have you come to tell that I am nothing?_

His own, dark, raspier voice, the one he used in the throne room.

Rey looked at him, standing with the sea bouncing on his legs, becoming angrier by the minute. She had never seen him like this, in all the battles they had fought - looking so strong, but feeling so exposed. Those were his most inner thoughts, his insecurities.The things that made him who he was - but instead of Snoke, it was her now, standing there.

Rey walked towards him, and as she reached the very edge of the water, she could see his clothes melting and blowing away, until all that was left was him, standing before her, naked. No bruises, no scars. Just him. Made bare by her will.

_You are something Ben._

He lowered his head and covered his face with both his hands. His shoulder shook and she heard a sob. He pushed his head back and his face was twisted into a sneer of pain, nostrils flared, his teeth clenched. Rey closed the distance and she felt her own clothes melting away, the sea becoming angrier around her, the sky darker as she stepped into the water. He radiated a coldness that made her skin prickle. She breathed deeply and focus on the Light.

_It's time to accept it: the past is gone; a new path lies ahead._

His hair was blowing around his face, the wind picking up speed. She couldn't say if he could hear her and acknowledge what was being offered. She raised her hand, stretching it to him.

_Join me._

His eyes were shot red and his mouth was swollen. He wasn’t sad or angry, but conflicted. He looked at her hand and she could see the battle going inside, as dark as the clouds forming behind them, menacing and thunderous. In the horizon, Rey saw a huge wave forming and charging. She was certain that whatever Snoke had left behind would always be there, always ready to come for him, to pull him under once more, into that blackness from which she had emerged.

_“BEN!”,_ she shouted, with all her strength, trying to beat the sound of the crashing waves and the furious wind.

The wave was almost upon them. The sea was steel grey. The wind was even stronger, almost making her lose her balance. Her hair getting loose and twirling around her face, making her seem like a goddess from the deep. She stretched her hand, fingers parted, trying to push the wave back with all her might.

She saw a monster, a white and gold snake, covered in scabs, rearing up his head from the water, moving towards them, jaws open. A spear of fear nestled in her heart: Snoke.

_Please!_

Her throat felt raw from the effort, the world being pushed and pulled around them. And suddenly, his voice pierced through the confusion. Steady and deep, as only he would.

_I know what I have to do. And I am not afraid anymore._

He grabbed her hand, tight. The monster screamed, has it reared back and melted into the ocean. The wind subsided instantly and the sun broke through the clouds, a blinding light invading them both.

Ben took one step, then two, then three. And there he was: his feet on the sand, his body close to hers, now warm when it had been cold. She leaned over him, as he placed his chin on her head.

_I’ve come back for you, sweetheart._

Rey gasped as she pulled away from Ben’s mind. He stirred and grunted, opening his eyes and feeling them crusty. He raised a hand to his face, taking notice of his wet cheeks. He looked confused at first. But has he turned and saw her there, Rey could see a shadow of a smile falling over his eyes.

 “I dreamed of you”, he stated. To Rey, it felt homely somehow. Like it had been like this for years and years. And just like that, she no longer felt alone.

Rey bent over him and kissed him tenderly, feeling his response chiming through their bond.

_I know._


End file.
